Ooo Laine, I’m SO happy to hear this! If you happen to have a few photos of it, I would be SO EXCITED as (as you know), I don’t have any of it in action! If that’s not your comfort zone, I totally get it :).

I’m so happy you’re happy! As for the grays, slate USUALLy likes grays wtih a slight blue-green undertone (an undertone that tends to pop more in gray). Look at SW Roycroft Pewter, BM Kitty Gray (stronger again). Sooooome slates can handle a slightly warm gray like Amherst Gray or Kendall Charcoal, as long as the look a bit green with your slate (not violet).

Jana, what a nice note to get. I do get soooo many comments asking for help, and a note like this just lights up my heart – thank you 🙂

I had my cabinets done two years ago and they used a Behr cabinet paint and did not seal them and within six months we had worn through the paint right down the to cherry wood around all the knobs. I am now having to redo them myself and will be adding a coat of polyurethane. Now, it could be that the painters just did a crappy job, but I’m not taking any chances this time. Just speaking from my own experience, of course. I’m no expert.

Hi Renee, your BEST plan of attack will be to find a white that blends with your tile. If it’s not the same, it will look either more yellow, creamy, dingy, etc… of course you could do a NON-white, in which case your countertop will call the big shots! If you like the idea of white cabinets, SW Extra White and High Reflective White are often similar to ‘white tile’ – same with BM Chantilly Lace. However, once you throw White Dove in the mix, you’re back mixing warm whites/bright whites again. Sometimes there isn’t a happy medium between what’s there and something bigger has to shift – either White Dove OR consider non-white cabinets that go with the countertop :).

Personally, I would stick with Alabaster. When you mix whites, one exposes the undertones in another. The only other type of white you could use would be a brighter warm white, but it would make Alabaster look more yellow/cream, just in comparison. If you keep Alabaster as the WHITEST white in the space, it acts more as it should.

I wouldn’t do it – too yellow 🙂

You betcha – and I would love to see photos when it’s all done!

Hi Janet! I do get a BIT nervous with mix and match whites. Simply White is cleaner/whiter and that touch more yellow than White Dove and I might worry a bit about White Dove looking just a bit dingy in comparison. I’d get a quart mixed up of White Dove in satin finish and do 2 coats on a sample board, tape it up on the wall with Simply White and see how they flow :).

Well, if THIS isn’t the funniest comment I’ve read in a while, I don’t know what is! Taj Mahal is aaaaamazing! As for trim colour, I tend to say pretty traditional for MASS versatility, rather than picking up whites that could flash pink or anything scary. Check out the likes of BM Simply White or SW Pure White :).

Thank you so much! I know we are on the cooler version, so now it’s down to figuring out which one works best. Do you have any advice on picking the one that blends well but isn’t too stark since we have northern exposure?

Hi Lisa! Well, first off, wine can definitely help ;). Here’s what I would do. I would go to the paint store (I’d hit two – BM and SW) and pick up:

1. Their whites white (BM Chantilly Lace and SW High Reflective White)
2. Warm versions (BM Cloud White, White Dove and Simply White / SW Alabaster, Pure White and Dover White)
3. cooler versions (BM Super White/Decorators White / SW Extra White)

Bring those home and stick them on your trim to see which one blends the MOST! It can be tricky as the sheen of your trim can skew things, but that will be as close as you can get. You can also take a piece of trim into the paint store and have them colour match it, but I’ve seen some PRETTY HOT MESSES that way, you have to really double-check it on a larger scale.

I hope that helps!

Hi Patricia, we have the same combo in a summer cottage and chose to paint the walls Benjamin Moore Simply White. I can attest to the colour being a perfect white without it being stark and looks great on large walls. It might be a nice choice for your cabinets.

Hi Nancy, did you decide? And what backsplash are you using? I am installing Colonial White granite that has whites, beiges, creams, black, and purple. (Sounds like a mess, but pretty…). Curious to what you went with…Thank you!

Hello Kylie! THANK YOU for your great advice. So appreciative of your knowledge and the humor to relieve this decorating stress! 😉 I’m replacing your favorites (Venetian Gold counters and orange, cathedral arched oak cabinets) with Colonial White Granite (warm and soft with cloudy grays, green undertones, purple garnets that I don’t love but accepting b/c it’s better than venetian gold). Wish I could justify quartz for my home…anyway, I have BM Vanilla Milkshake trim and SW Anew Gray walls. The vanilla milkshake isn’t common but love how it looks. Anything was better than the orange oak trim. Would you suggest vanilla milkshake cabinets (some areas are close to trim & doors), simply white, or white dove? I still need to get the backsplash (MAJOR CRY ON CHOOSING THAT ONE!). Any advice would be so helpful; praying for your response!

Well, you gave me my morning giggle – well done! Yes, it is SO nice to see wood cabinets come back in style. I did some in our bar area, just to do something different and i LOOOOVE them!

Oooo, if you mean SW Alabaster, it’s ‘okay’, but I find it a bit warm for Mindful and would lean more into SW Pure White :). And definitely not BM Alabaster!

My kitchen has a lot of natural light and faces south..

Hmmmm. Makes me a bit nervous in that the warmth of White Dove could set off the cool vibe of Extra White, whereas Extra White will set off the warmth of White Dove. Will this be ‘bad’…no, but i just don’t know if it will be that good as they might just seem like a mismatch – too much the same (being white) but different undertones. Makes me nervous… :).

Oooo, that’s a tough one as all of a sudden your cabinets are the odd man out! I would recommend going with a soft warmer off-white rather than a white, just to reduce this a bit :).

I am painting my kitchen and family room Winchester Tan (BM), and i would like to pick the right white to pain golden oak cabinets white, currently I am looking at (BM) Simply White, but what color trim. My granite is black, and oak flooring throughout. Would there be a better Cabinet and Trim color. HElp… i am terrible at this. MAny thanks

I have white dove trim and want to paint my orangey oak cabinets white. ( very warm granite countertops and wood beams on the ceiling)

I have poured over your articles but am unsure which white would work. I don’t want to overpower the dove white nor have the cabinets look dirty.

What do you suggest?

Hi Brooke, it can depend on the brand of window, but I would expect that you will see a shift – not by much though. I have white windows and White Dove trim and it is a BARELY THERE shift.

Hi Linda! When it comes to cabinets, it’s a blend of quality paint and GOOD prepwork. If the prepwork isn’t 100%, there isn’t any paint that will save you. Sanding/cleaning/high quality primer, those are the essentials. From there, I go to BM Advance for a hardy top finish. Any painted finish will chip, but it shouldn’t be THAT bad 😉

Thank you so very much for your blog! LOVE reading all your posts!!!

Hi again Cristal! They funny thing is that many brands won’t sell oil based paints anymore. The new latex paints are made so hardy and are often called ‘Alkyd Emulsions’ as they spread more evenly than some of the older latex products and have durable finishes. I personally would never do oil again, after using the likes of BM Advance…